Solar generates 20% of global electricity on summer solstice: Ember

This increased from last year’s 16%.

Think tank Ember has estimated that 20% of the world’s electricity will come from solar across the summer solstice midday peaks on 21 June. 

For the 24 hour average, Ember projected that solar will provide 8.2% of global electricity generation on the said day, which is similar to its generation forecast for June 2024.

“Although the solstice is the longest day of the year, all days in June are similar enough in length that solar generation on this day will be very close to the monthly average. The hourly profile was calculated by a weighted average of the hourly solar generation data,” it explained.

Ember’s 8.2% forecast for June 2024 is higher than the 6.7% recorded in June 2023. In absolute terms, it expects solar to rise by 28% to 201 terawatt hours (TWh) in June 2024 from 157 TWh a year ago.

In China, the largest solar market accounting for 36% of global generation in 2023, this energy source’s share in the country’s total production is expected to increase to 9.6% this month from 7% in June 2023, Ember said.

The think tank also expects the same in the EU, with solar share across June to be more than double the global average at 20%, up from 17% in June 2023. 

Ember, meanwhile, expects similar solar share in the US and India this month at 6.9% and 7.1%, respectively, compared to the global average of 8.2%.

“Both countries had very similar annual average solar share in 2023, with the US at 5.6% and India at 5.8%, slightly higher than the global average of 5.5%,” Ember noted.